Having fun is a good reason to be playful. The pleasure it generates could be seen as its primary benefit. Even so, I want to explore what can be the longer-term benefits of playfulness. For the biologist, benefits are measured in terms of the particular ways in which an activity increases the chances of survival and enhances reproductive success. Most people would not worry too much if their playfulness affected their chances of survival and would probably not be at all concerned about its impact on their reproductive success. Many would, however, be interested in the particular long-term outcomes of their playfulness that eventually lead to those matters that concern biologists. I shall argue that one such outcome is their creativity.

A colleague and close friend of mine is in San Diego this weekend attending a Remo Drums HealthRHYTHMS course, being taught by Christine Stevens (videos of Stevens). I am looking forward to hearing all about what she learned when she returns to Colorado because for many years I have been interested in the use of music for conflict resolution (see my past posts on that topic here). The use of music with and for aging seniors has also been a long-time interest.

Music is an important component of the human experience. The use of music in culture has been a documented feature of the history of civilizations. Types of music have been uniquely associated with distinct feelings, experiences, and social interactions. Cultures have incorporated music into the educational process, religious and tribal rituals, and patriotic expressions. Music conveys features of culture both with lyrics and melody. Vocal music has been used both as a contemporary vehicle and an archival mechanism to transmit important cultural, moral, spiritual, and historical events and values. Music has been used to calm, to enable feelings of safety, and to reduce the social distance between people.

Music can be a very potent and effective tool. The drum, one of the most basic instruments, provides a way any of us, no matter how musically unskilled, can use the tool of music actively, playfully, and easily.

HealthRHYTHMS Basic Training teaches a fun, evidence-based whole person strategy which promotes socialization and ensures a healthy non-strenuous workout. On a deeper level it builds bridges while fostering nurturing, support, camaraderie, self-respect and respect for others. It is not really about drumming, but uses the drum as a tool for communication and personal expression. This system can be integrated as a therapeutic strategy in group counseling sessions, support groups, rehabilitation centers, schools, hospitals, aging facilities and more.

I can think of a few law firms that could benefit from a drum corps in the hallways.

If you believe as I do that a mindful mediator is a more effective mediator—both because of his or her adept ability to utilize conflict resolution skills but more importantly because of the direct effect he or she has on the parties' affect (i.e., mood)—then I have a suggested program for you below.

No surprise to any of you who read my blogs: I think the reflectiveness, the mindfulness, of the mediator is significant, sometimes paramount, in the resolving of disputes. That mindfulness state is what in my opinion moves a dispute professional from adequate to excellent, to one who serves clients in a manner that is outstanding.

Because I think both play and self-knowledge can enhance our mindfulness, I am recommending a workshop to you. It's being taught September 18-21, by Doctors Bonnie Badenoch and Theresa Kestly in the artist and farmland community of Corrales, New Mexico, near the Rio Grande River. Click for all the details and to register. I have taken two seminars from Bonnie in the past, read two of her books which I recommend frequently, and believe she is gifted at working with clients. Even though I have not yet taken a class from Theresa, I know much about her approach and philosophy because I have read and appreciated several chapters of her forthcoming book The Interpersonal Neurobiology of Play. Both she and Bonnie are well-grounded in the science that underlies what they practice and teach.

So if you want to enhance your ability to resolve disputes while having fun in a beautiful setting learning from two mindful experts, sign up here.

Note: To learn more benefits of play, go to some of my past posts: here, here, and here.

The reasons she puts forth for participating in games are directly related to what many of us hope for in our clients (and ourselves):

tackling tough challenges with high creativity, determination, and optimism

reaching out to others for collaboration

If you could foster those benefits in others (typically while they are having fun), would you? Have you thought about games as one method of client service? Do you use games with your clients? If not, why?

Gamification* is more than badges or graphs, of course. The principle of personal choice (mentioned in yesterday's post), both in the goals and the methods for getting to the goals, is an important factor in what separates the superficial, badge-based from the sophic, deeply skilled use of gamification. But it is not as easy to design the customizable games because one can't use the Procrustean approach. That's why I admire people like McGonigal who incorporate the customization component in their design process. Not as easy but much more likely to benefit the player for a long time after the playing is over.

No surprise: The player probably has more fun with the wisely designed game, too.

Top 5 regrets shared at the end of life:“I wish I hadn’t work so hard”“I wish I’d stay in touch with my friends”“I wish I had let myself be happier”“I wish I had the courage to express my true self”“I wish I’d led a life true to my dreams, and not what others expected of me”

Post-Traumatic Growth:...1. My priorities have changed – I’m not afraid to do what makes me happy2. I feel closer to my friends and family.3. I understand myself better, I know who I really am now.4. I have a new sense of meaning and purpose.5. I’m better able to focus on my goals and dreams.

*(Added later on November 24, 2103) Gamification may not be the best word to use. Here's what

Because I believe the principles of gamification can be used to motivate clients to complete tasks necessary to the effective and personalized handling of their legal matters or conflicts, I have been slowly researching the ways games are created and designed. Two recent events came together in such a way that I am now wholly reinspired to master gaming—soon.

First was reading the book The Game of Work by Charles Coonradt, one of the original gurus of taking what works in games and applying that to work. (He's been called the grandfather of gamification.) Coonradt believes there are five principles that are the basis of the transfer of success and motivation seen in the game arena to work:

Clearly defined goals

Scorekeeping and scorecards

Frequent feedback (and he adds that the impact of the feedback is greater if illustrated on charts and graphs)

Personal choice of methods

Consistent coaching

Other gurus of gamification present lists of principles that are a bit different. After reading some of those gurus, I think the principles I find most compelling are: clearly defined goals, frequent feedback, and personal choice. More about those in a minute . . .

The second event that increased my commitment to learning gamification was coming upon Mediator in a Box, a tool created by a Colorado lawyer Clare Sprowell and her sister Marla Sloan, a conflict coach who lives in British Columbia. From what I can see at their Website and in this article, they have made conflict resolution into a box game. A creative idea! I don't know if they include the principles of gamification in the design but their concept sparked my imagination about applying gamification to transactional areas of the law.

In order to gamify a process, whether it be writing a will, estate planning, exercising, or drinking more water, one needs to have clear goals. The thinking required to clarify the intention or objective is a big advantage in achievement, and a necessary ingredient in a game. If I

I resist creativity tools and toys. Why? They seem silly—until I have been forced to use them. For example, years ago an old friend regularly taught the Six Thinking Hats method and invited me to sit in on one of his day-long programs. Because I truly liked and admired the friend, and was somewhat curious, I accepted. My conclusion at the end of the day: Great technique to spur new thinking.

Lately I have been working on several new projects and sometimes feel bored, even burned out, with my own concepts and views. When I find myself spent and disenchanted, a blazing boost of brilliance is required (and yearned for).

"Time to consult some silliness," I said to myself this morning. Then I SCAMPERed and maneuvered an obstacle course in my mind. Doing so helped with my ruts and going-nowhere routine. In case you need to be intellectually invigorated, I will tell you what I did. These easy, dippy exercises, simple enough to be recommended for use with kids, may bring you a great notion.

SCAMPER, my first activity, is a mnemonic to remind me of a series of questions to ask myself about something I am trying to improve, whether that be a product, service, or idea. The letters stand for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. Click for complete instructions on how to use SCAMPER (MindTools). That link includes several questions to ask about each letter or step.

The game's stack of obstacles includes things like a swamp, a wall, a maze, a blizzard, an ogre, and a dark tunnel. Each player is dealt some (we used up to 8 each) random tools, such as a lever, fireflies, a stick of butter, a shower curtain, a copper pipe, and an umbrella. The players then - competitively or cooperatively - create ways to conquer each successive obstacle using the few tools they have available when encountering each obstacle.

Although the randomness of actually playing the game would be fun, today I made up a list of my own obstacles (ones I am really experiencing) and then used the "Other Lists" setting on my word generator app to create a list of tools. I was surprised that some of the solutions seemed workable. They just may facilitate a new direction, or maybe a new pathway in my mind. Although I had fun doing this alone, I think it would be entertaining and beneficial to do with a few other people someday.

Those were my early-morning adventures. What are your most productive activities for generating new ways of thinking?

My leprechauns from Ireland were out playing today, of course. Above is a photo I snapped of them with my animal fetishes from New Mexico.

I hope you are having a good Saint Patrick's Day, and enjoying yourself as much as the leprechauns are enjoying themselves! More photos of their fun below . . . When they jumped on his nose, my cherished pig (a gift from my dad) was not having much fun.

The fetishes on their own, roaming free . . .

Note: I am still learning how to make adjustments from the iPhone to apps to my blog so I don't lose color, sharpness, centering, focus, and more when I move the photos from one place to another. Have patience, please.

I confess that I own many, many empty notebooks. Some are spiral-bound, some are composition books, some are scribble pads of newsprint. Over the years, I have learned that a few of my friends understand the irresistible allure of blank pages, and most do not. My fellow junkies know exactly when the back-to-school bargains start at Office Max, have the routes to all the nearby Dollar Trees memorized, and know which brands of journals are sold on Amazon. Their car trunks, like mine, are often lined with empty 1-, 2- and 3-subject notebooks of many colors, both college- and wide-ruled.

You either understand the pull of vacant pages, or you think we are notebook nuts. That's okay; we have learned to stick together, forming a grapevine through which we share the pain of being being misunderstood and newly-discovered sources for bound paper.

Today I read a paragraph, in a book titled Writing Away, that aptly describes how a new notebook makes me feel. For my fellow fanatics:

There's nothing like the feeling of buying a brand new blank book. It's a tingly, buzzy sensation, not unlike the one you might experience admiring a shiny new car in your driveway (though I'll allow it falls a few digits lower on the thrillometer). Like a new car, a blank book is an invitation. It represents limitless possibilities... .

The book from which that excerpt is taken is about travel writing. In case you are not interested in writing about your travels, click to watch a TED talk by the author and you may change your mind.

Can playing games such as poker, bridge, and chess assist in learning? That's a question just considered at Harvard Law School. From "Mind Sports Rampant" (Harvard Magazine):

Master players of chess, bridge, poker, Go, and international draughts convened at Harvard Law School on June 13 to discuss how such “mind sports” might enhance learning in schools and libraries, and even contribute to building civic life in communities “with an Olympic vision.” The daylong conference, “Bringing Mind Sports into the Classroom and Beyond,” drew 24 invited participants from the education and library worlds as well as the game masters.

Weld professor of law Charles Nesson, co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society (which co-sponsored the symposium with the Law School and the United States Mind Sports Association), led the proceedings, with his daughter Rebecca Nesson ’98, J.D. ’01, Ph.D. ’09, of Public Radio Exchange, as co-leader. ...

“Education must strike a balance between physical and mental sports,” said Nesson, who has used poker to teach strategic thinking to his law students for nearly three decades. ...

...

In contract bridge, unlike the other mind sports, players work with a partner, and so “to be a good player, you have to be a good partner,” said Howard Weinstein, a former options trader who became a World Life Master in bridge. “You need to be a good communicator, and be able to help your partner out. The top partnerships are like marriages.” He reported that some complex bridge bidding systems are based on the Fibonacci series; like poker, bridge is a game of calculation, with plenty of psychology and unknown information. And “you have to put yourself in the minds of the opponents.”